Front (stock) Speakers -- Something strange...

[Tkearns7]

I recently installed a headunit into my car a few months ago and i had experienced some mild problems during the installation. I already posted a thread about it and i'd like to say thanks to the people who helped me out. But the problem hasn't totally been resolved.
The only problem that still remains involves the front speakers. Also, I have the premium 8-speaker sound system. Anyway, here's what i did:
I removed the old headunit (obviously) and also removed the factory amp. In addition, I still have the factory wiring (from HU to the Amp) still in the car, but am not currently using it. I don't wanna confuse anyway, but i just left the wires in the car; dont think it matters... Anyway, I set up the new HU with 16-guage wiring and it sounds decent. At least the rear speakers do. The front, on the other hand, provide very poor quality sound. Their volume is much lower than the rear speaker's and sound becomes distorted when bass notes are played. I currently have each of the four (2 front and 2 rear) speakers wired directly from the HU and i then had the tweeters wired off the speakers. All speakers and tweeters play sound, its just that the front speakers don't play sound like they should. I've read that some other people have had problems with the front ones. I dont really understand why the front speakers suck, yet the rears sound great even though i wired them the same way. My guess is a wiring issue, but i'd like if anyone can tell me what i did wrong. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Viewtiful Sight]

Hmm, they do sound a little weak. Perhaps you should consider hunting for replacements? Otherwise, double check the wiring. Maybe it's not secure...

 

[mjbst111]

hmmm... when i wired my fronts excactly as the rears were wired originally, they sounded the same. They all sound pretty darn good. There should be capacitors or something on the front big ones.. did you wire to those accordingly?

 

[Rukus]

buy some new speakers!!!!!! There! problem solved!

you can get factory replacement for as low as $50(maybe even cheaper) for two if you just want normal speakers. Something like Kenswood KFC's (chicken speakers), cone style, no tweets. Or search on ebay, you can get a decent set of sony xplods for like $10 with like $10 shipping charges. it would sound sooo much better than factory


I currently run
Calarion CD Player - $150
2 sony xplods in front dash, - $50
2 rockford coaxials in rear dash, - $110
kicker competition 12" subwoofer ina bandpass enclosure - $130
hooked to a 900 wat Rockford Mono amplifier, - $160
old school 2 channel 300watt speaker amp running my 4 speakers. - Free

Total Cost of my whole setup - $600 CND or $460 USD

inexpensive stereo for expensive sounding music.

 

[mjbst111]

wouldn't the factory component speakers be better than cheap ace new speakers. i don't know, do what you want but there is good sound for free in those premium factory speakers.

 

[junglestylz]

Check to make sure that you speaker wire are not running directly next to any high voltage wiring, If it is not shielded wire, the voltage will interfere with the signal running through the speaker wire.

 

[Rukus]

anything aftermarket is better than factory speakers.

 

[bichmgnt]

Just checking but you did disconnect the old wires from the speakers before hooking up the new ones, right? Also, the crossovers for the tweeters were left in place when you connected the speakers, right? And last, you aren't sending the full signal to the tweeters with the band pass filtering the signal to the full range speakers, right?

Did it sound OK when you first hooked it up? If so you might have blown out the speakers. If they still make sound it might be hard to determine if they're bad by measuring their resistance so I'd try taking them out and hooking them up to a known good source and see how they sound. If they sound good check the wiring. If not get new speakers. I've got Infinity 5.05cs component speakers in my car and was able to put the new tweeters in place of the ones on the door. The old ones came right out and the new ones fit perfectly. Sounds awesome!

Steve

 

[Bimmerboy86]

Ok...alot of the people posting don't seem to know too much about stereo for this car. I, on the other hand, am an audiophile and have been working on my system consistently for over 7 years. Tinkering here and there. Shooting for the best. Anyway...Your Factory speakers are ok. They will not give you the most clarity, but they will do unless you want perfection. You were very right in changing the HU first. Most people think that if you replace the speakers your system will be soo much better. The HU is the brain and heart of all the system. That should always be the first thing that you replace in anycar. A factory reciever will deliver approx. 15 watts to each speaker in the car, while most aftermarket recievers will put out about 25-27watts. BMW's (esp. the e30's) have absolutely the worst set up for front speakers. They are in the kick panel on the floor facing the opposite wall. That is your first problem. You say that your tweeters are wired off you kick panel speakers...what would be more beneficial is to fork out a couple bucks and go buy a cross-over so that the wattage is being shared...not split. That will give you a little more high end treb. The only solution for making the kick panel speakers better is to build a custom enclosure that will face more toward the seats of the car...OR...fade a majority of your sound to the front. That way, more power is being used by your front speakers than your back. Aftermarket speakers are not a bad way to go but that is not necessary. Perhaps buying an aftermarket mids and highs amp would be a good way to spend some $$$. Hope this helped! If you have anymore questions Ill try to help you out!